Government puts work of children's sector bodies on hold

Human Without Any Rights - 21 May 2010

I flatly refuse to accept this to be normal process for all CAFCASS offices or officers. But the treatment I received by the CAFCASS Guildford office was abysmal.

They have miss-represented accounts of events, miss-represented witness statements, miss-represented observations and thoroughly abandoned all duties of care to my child, my ex-partner and myself.

CAFCASS officers are not medically trained, but the can prescribed psychiatric treatment and counselling. All without the need of any supporting evidence to support any allegations.

Where actual interactions are witnessed by CAFCASS without incident, CAFCASS officers have the autonomy to use the term "to a trained and experienced child protection worker" allowing them to then miss-represent events they have witnessed.

As a father I was forced to suffer the shame of supervised contact without any justification, judicial review or evidence to support my ex-partners never ending or changing allegations against me.

The original hand-written notes collated during supervised contact miraculously disappeared! Conveniently allowing my child's CAFCASS case worked the opportunity to present to court her interpretation of what occurred during supervised contact which she was not present!

Needles to say the CAFCASS case worker got completely carried away with her Section 7 report. Even going to the extent of stating an incident was witnessed by an individual who was not even in the building on the day she alleged...!

Instead of reviewing any of the evidence to contradict her employee, the branch manager decided to make the greatest attempt to block all evidence from ever been heard in court!

What methodology would this represent?

The normal horror stories relating to CAFCASS officers regularly include:

- Miss-representations of actual analyst completed by trained and experienced professionals.

- Miss-representations of father's emotions, well being and state of mind.

- Miss-representations of events they witnessed.

- The presentation of false / untrue documents or accounts to court.

The above points are in places fraudulent, when CAFCASS officers take the witness stand in court. Additionally perjure is still a criminal offense?

How / why is this perversion of the greatest judiciary allowed to continue?

What is even more shocking is the Government appointed minister for children and the head of CAFCASS flatly refuses to comment on any individual case?

We now live in an age where it is increasingly difficult for people, Civil Servants in particular to lose their jobs.

Taking into account the following regular reported complaints about CAFCASS' practices:

- Is the systematic discrimination against fathers

- the infringement of fathers' Human Rights

- Gross negligence

- Gross incompetence

- Perjury

- Perverting the course of justice

- Fraud

Are these reasons not enough to at least alarm the individuals who are paid 6 figure salaries to safeguard our children?

Broness Delyth Morgan, Anthony Douglas flatly refused to do the job they were paid to do.

Is Michael Gove able to make any difference, or is he now likely to sit back do nothing and reap all the rewards?

Only time will tell...

John Follett - 19 May 2010

On the issue of the TDA School workforce training grants, there are many LA school workforce development teams who have continued to provide support and training in the expectation of grant funding continuing. This was based on assurances at the end of March that the TDA had received its finalised remit letter and funding settlement for 2010-1. This went on to state that the level of funding for 2010-11 would be broadly similar to 2009-10. However the fact that there is still no news on these budgets when expenditure is continuing to be undertaken is a very worrying. Surely the government cannot renege on promises already made. Or can it.

Jan Cosgrove - 18 May 2010

Let's guess, the schools building programme axed, 11 Million axed, a return to make-do-and-don't-mend, favoured schools in a back-door return-to-basics, vetting and barring axed and children put at risk. Is this what the nation voted for? We'll have to wait and see. Continuity of government versus ideology, part 1.

Phil Long - 18 May 2010

Is this really a surprise given the amount of debt the country is in. I mean it is really bad, our country has been borrowing at an alarming rate and owes an incredible amount of money. You have to ask your self, when would it have stopped?

Now I am as nervous and worried as anyone about the cuts in public services, and non more so than in youth services which is my field.

It is a sensible decision for the Government to commision no spending until they have assessed their priorities, and where they will be making cuts, this we would have expectd from any Government which won the election.

Hopefully decisions will be made as soon as possible on spending plans, and organisations which have had to put their work on hold, will be able to continue as normal.

Jon O'Connor - 18 May 2010

I've had to read the report twice just to be sure what it is saying.

The simplicity of message is like suddenly seeing a cyclist appear in the fast lane of the M25 - you marvel at their boldness, wonder slightly about their possession of normal faculties, brace for the inevitable.

You could be forgiven for imagining this is going to create a fair bit of chaos and a fair chance of law-suits, even in the short term.

Does David Bell seriously mean... that no new inspections and teams, no education leadership development work, no workforce training grants, no post-16 provision not yet finalised, no building work for new schools, no ICT development for education can be commissioned....?

But please note: ask questions only "if an agency has something critiical to do...." Which wouldn't include any forward planning to deliver services for the lives of children and young people. Put on hold.

Please also note that "new ministers....are not accepting advice which has not been requested." Await further announcements. Wait for the phone call.

The next few weeks will be interesting for the many thousands of staff and managers across the education sector, to say the least....